Law dot.com - Which way?

If you can't beat them, join them.

There is no escaping the winds of technology, not even for one of the oldest, reputedly change-resistant professions - law.

Chief Justice Yong Pung How said this about the impact of technology on legal practice at the opening of Asia's Legal Systems and Technology Conference yes1terday.

Not only did he see more lawyers involved in technology law in Asia, he also observed a few practitioners discarding their formal robes for the casual garb of legal technopreneurs.

Indeed, 2000 seems to be the year of the mushrooming of legal portals, said Ms Susan Tay, co-founder of WWLegal.com.

A random survey found up to 12 online legal portals, including WWLegal.com, legalstudio.com and myelaw.net.

And the latest kid on the block? Juzlaw Exchange, which will be launched today.

It is a collaboration with another UK-based legal service site, Firstlaw.co.uk - the first international partnership of this sort in the world, Mr Anthony Armitage, founder of Firstlaw, claimed.

Certainly, portals are popping up in Singapore.

Yet, as with dotcoms galore in other service industries, will this proliferation risk flooding the market? After all, there are only about 800 law firms in Singapore to provide a key source of business.

Mr Armitage thinks not. The legal industry is different and there are high barriers to entry - chiefly, the regulated nature of the industry and the need for expertise.

Credentials matter and it is important that people who run the portal are experienced lawyers themselves. That leaves few who can grab at the pie.

For instance, Juzlaw Exchange - a platform to match clients with law firms - will be administered by a law firm and experienced lawyers.

Also, the different portals are pursuing different business models and audiences, which makes them not in direct competition with each other.

"At this point, the key portals are still quite different and they appeal to different kinds of people," said Ms Tay, a co-founder of WWLegal.com.

For instance, while WWLegal.com focuses on providing legal tools to lawyers, Juzlaw sees itself as a middleman, a "travel agency" which will recommend law firms to clueless clients.

Also, while the former charges service fee, the latter's revenue is commission-based.

Also, in borderless cyberspace, markets are not bound by geography.

Being a nascent industry, how has the reception of these online legal services been among lawyers?

Well, WWLegal.com has already signed up 30 law firms as online lawyers since it started in September this year.

Ms Tay feels that Singapore will, provide a good market for these online legal services because the judiciary itself is spearheading the use of technology.

"But we have a bit of a mindset to change. But Singapore lawyers are generally net-savvy - especially with the e-filing system."

Indeed, as CJ Yong himself warned, those who do not jump onto the technological bandwagon will be the laggards in the digital divide.